New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-08-28
DA PONTE IN NETWORK.
AMERICAN LIFE or MOZART'S POET
AN UNNAMED GENIUS RESTING IN AN IN
MARKED GRAVE.

| CHEcKEREp CAREER OF THE POET OF "DoS
GiovASNI"--A CHAPTER OF LOCAL HISTORY
| MORE THAN LOCAL INTEREST.
In all tho chief cities OF Europe preparations are
making tor tine celebration OF the hundredih anniver-
sarv of the first pertormanceof Mozarts opera Don
| Giovanni" which took place III Prague on October 20
| 1857. Toe majority OF the festive representations
will DO given OCTOBER 20 OF this year but In Saz
burg the birthplace OF Mozart the anniversary per-
formances have already taken place. They were
under the management OF tho directors OF the Mozart
egm, who anxious to enlist tha cooperation OF
| the most distinguished Singers IN Germany besides
| Hans Richter the eminent conductor, and as TINS
would have been impossible in the regular seasons OF
| the various municipal and Court theatres earlier
| date was chosen. At the commemoration By thu
Grand Opera OF Paris the original manuscript score
of tie opera which Is owned by Nine. Viardot Garcia,
daughter of the first representative OF "Don Clio
yaua in the Cnted States will be exhibited TO the
public in the foyer of the opera house. In Dresden
| the Tonkunstler-VcIen, hearing that Luigi Bassi,
who created" the role Of the dissolute Don at
the first representation lay barred IN Dresden GENE
terry, the singers ongne elected grave to be
restored and marble bearing suitable inscrip-
| ton to be placed over it,
Thus has a simple singer been honored, whils the
resting places OF the colossal genius who created the
music and the gifted and ingenious poet who provided
him with the poetry which he might wed that mu-
| sic must remain without distinguishing marx.
| Mozarts dust lies In paupers grave IN Vienna but
where knows. The grave was never marked; the
| plot In which II made one that was dug up
| every ten years and filled anew. storm drove back
the friends who started to attend ths burial and
no one saw the body lowered except the sexton and
| his assistants. noble friend who had undertaken
the OF the funeral because OF the Illness OF MO
zart's widow and who had expended eleven HORNS
and thirtysix kreutEer 1t (say about T5 did not
inquire where the body had been put, and when the
widow visited the churehyard after her recovery the
| gravedggers had been changed and no one know
| where tue remains Ct the great musician lay.
| That In December, 1901 IN Vienna. Almost
halt century later Lorenzo Da Ponte. the Italian
| poet who had been Mozarss friend aud collaboration
with him on three operas. Z" lie Nozze di Figaro
| Don Giovanni" and Cost tan Tutte," died In New
YORK. He had lived In the New World full genera
tiOn more than onethrd OF q mlrvelously checkered
lte the term OF which embraced the birth and death
OF Mozart Beethoven, Schubert, Byron. Scott, and
Napoleon Bonaparte and the entire creative career OF
| Haydn; he had been impro 'nstpre, pTofcsstr OF
rhetoric and politician his native and poet to tho
Imperial Theatre aud Latin secretary to the Emperor
in Austria; Italian teacher, operate poet, ntterneur
| and bookseller In England; tradesman. teacher
| opera manager, bookseller in America. He had en-
joyed the friendship of OF the great ones OF the
| Old World, and OF the noble ones OF the New,
! and IN New-York he nearer 10 finding n home
than any vherc Ia Europe. He died within the reeo
| lection of many persons yet alive. and men whose
names shine brightly In local annals followed him TO
! his grave yet the exact location OF that grave 10
! unknown. A few days ago the writer made labor
search for it, All available reccrds polnteh 10 the
| old Roman Catholic cemetery 10 Elevenih-st., be-
tween Avenue A sud First-ave., ~ the graveyard
| that had received the body OF tho distinguished
nonagcnaran lust fortynne years before. The place
| il overgrown with rank grass and needs. There are
| no paths. Those who wish TO read the inscriptions
| on the headstones mast stumble along ss beat they
eau, now over irregular hillocks, now Into deep do
pressions halfed with old boots rusty tin cans and
other refuse Many of tho Inscriptions have been OBJ
liberated by the action of the elements, some OF tue
stones lie prone upon the ground the bones wbich
ono. they guarded having been removed. as the
bright eyed slycrhsircd old vile OF the
decrepit keeper explains. aud In one place large
ailanTus tree in growing has taken mp stone halt
way into itself. For hours the writer crossed ana
recrossed the decaying cemetery, scrutnhng careful
" every inscription but in vain No headstcnc was
| found bearing the name OF Da Ponte and there are
records 10 identity tho spot where on August 10
| 1898. his grave was dug. alt was before we bcSan
70 .urvey our cemeteries" said the cbligng ceFk In
the office OF Calvary Cs.netery, alongSiie the old
| Cathedral In Mulberry-st ID was from this Catbc-
| ara that the old post Vas buried.
The lie Of Lorenzo Da Ponts has moi often been
told it has never been all told. and the narratives
! which have found their way into pridt are tui OF
| inaccuracies. In Clbischea's bOosaon Mozart MS
death Is said 20 have occurred In December. 1888 In
| stead OF August aud whsn the municipality OF MS
native town about twenty years ago. wanted to erect
monument 20 him. IL was found necessary 20 apply 10
New York 20 learn the date OF his death II at that
time an answer was returned by the municipality OF
New.York ani the ofci, records were Consulted tor
tho information the chances are that an INCORRECT
date w.. sent Ceneds for the records OF the Health
! D-partmsnt assert that Lorenzo Dapon,e thus the
name Is writtenJ died on August Il. 1888. which
was four DAYS after the date aud one day after
! his burial. The books are equally contradictory as
10 the date OF hs arrival In Amer Ga anu many other
incidents In his Many OF these contradictions
nre doubtless due to the want OF detuitenes which
/ fhe autObO xrapny
Ponte Published IN this city SIXTY odd years ago In
this work which mas been translated into German
| aud French but not into English, Da Ponte IL garru
| lous enough about many insignihtant things but
silent about many Others OF vastly moro Importance,
and his biographers In the hnndbooLs on music and
literature have pretty generally ovnced an unwilling
| ne.s 10 be guided in all things by Da Ponies own
| utterances An inquiry which has occupied several
weeks has discovered many Interesting things TO icing
the American career of D Ponte some having almost
seriooomic aspect Some OF these arc to be brought
out In this article preface which IL NAV be neocs-
sary TO sketch hurriedy the European life OF the poet
Lorenzo Da Ponte was an assumed name. The real
| name OF him who made " celebrated Is unknown. lilo
wa. the .on of Hebrew leather dealer IN Ceneda.
small town OF the Venetian Republic. Until hts four
teentb year be was brought mp Jew. bat having at
tracted the attention OF the Roman Catholic bishop Oh
| Ceneda, Lorcnso Da Ponts through hi' preooclous
| talents the latter gave him an education and bis
| name After live years OF studf ne want 10 Venice
whence aavrous escapades compelled him to beo TO
Trevso There he became professor OF rhetoric, and
| candidate tor office. lampooned bis opponent IN
sonnet ani Wa. ordered to leave the Roputlic OF
| venice He went TO Dresden, then to Vienna. where
| salien aided him and bo received from Joseph H.
the position of Poet tho Imperial Theatre aud Latin
| Secretary There too he toll In with Mozart, who
| asked him to throw Deaumarchass comedy " Le
Marriage do Figaro" into an opera. The collaboration
wa. the first happy one that Mozart had had and the
op,rs was tremendous success, especially In Prague
Mozar, promised to write another opera for the peo-
| pie who unde istood him well, and this time Da
| Ponte suggested Don Giovanni" To Da Ponte be-
ngs the credit OF having suggested the story and
written the book OF this masorpiece whose chances
of Immortality are surely great as those OF any
| other product OF the human Intellect Da Ponte won